Hilversum at Night

I got home tonight, and found this...

Me in Keukenhof

Elma & Johann in Keukenhof

Keukenhof in Lisse

Some pictures from my trip with Miguel

The Hilton hotel in Brussels where we stayed. (The middel light brown building)

The view from the"Hilton" hotel room!

We never managed to find out what they sell there.....

Miguel on the Grote Markt in Brussels

Me & Miguel in front of the Atomium in Brussels.

Me, inside the Atomium

Miguel & the Weber! (With boerewors from Sloane meatmarket in JHB!)




Special parking place for women in Aachen! (Germany)



The long-awaited German schnitzel in Aachen.

Saturday

Today I went to the market in Hilversum and returned with gorgeous red roses and a stokbrood.



Found a picture on the internet of the market many many years ago.


The text tells the story of the market already being around at 1897!

The Story of the Volvo & The Autobahn....

Austria pictures!

Me & Remco... with skiing goggles!

Me & Fred in the ski lift - check the Michelin-woman ski jacket.

The view from the ski-lift.

The view from my bedroom window.

And also from my bedroom window. It was awesome.

Innovations

Being a foreigner in the Netherlands has its challenges. This weekend I was skiing (more in spirit than literally) in Austria with some colleagues, and it struck me how different the world is where I come from. I lack inherent components of European lifestyle.

So think out-of-the-box with me for a while.

The GPS device I bought here, TomTom, comes complete with SD card loaded with all the maps of Western Europe. You put the card in the slot and have instant access to all the alleys, highways and POIs in Western Europe. You could demand with the touch of the screen to see where the closest petrol station, castle or parking garage is.

Now, this being the year 2007 and human cloning is almost (if not entirely possible) why not consider my idea.

Culture plug-ins. Sure, the exact details need to be worked out in terms of input mechanism, auto-update and political implications, but it is none the less a perfect answer to my dilemma (and I supposed for others like me too).

It would go something like this:

On Thursday before our trip, after making a stop at the car service station to change get winter tyres and snow chains, I would also have made a stop at the Institute of Multi-cultural Technologies (IMT) – to receive my upload.

This would instantly enable me to understand après ski, speak German (of course), have good hand-eye coordination in order to stay upright on skis, actually grasping the relationship between boots, skis and those strange sticks and why this is fun.

This would eliminate the tourist-like behaviour I unconsciously displayed when we arrived at the ski lift – actually called “gondel”.

Of course, as it goes with any reputable software vendor, the offering would consist of a basic package, including the above mentioned functionalities, and extra add-ons at ridiculously inflated prices (think of the relationship between toner and a new printer!).

These optional extras would include driving in snow, feeling of belonging (priced per group), and of course the faux-pas elimination module.

Again, think with me. This is huge.

If I reverse the situation, European visitors wanting to have an African experience can purchase the basic South African module including the latest safety “look over your shoulder technologies” ™, a choice of eleven official languages and the universal minibus taxi hand signs.

Optional knowledge packs can include:

• How not to behave like a Chinese tourist in a game lodge and get eaten
• Arriving at the Oliver Tambo International Airport (name subject to change) and find a reputable taxi, and
• a deep understanding of electric fencing, its usage and the cultural implications. (In Beta testing this component would crash when asked to explain Thabo Mbeki´s R90 million security wall)

As you can probably see, I have put some thought into this.

It makes me think of this quote I once heard:

“Money cannot buy happiness, but it can pay a small research team to find out what exactly the problem is.”

Working for IBM, the innovator’s innovator, I think I might be on to something.

Definitely calling the research lab first thing tomorrow…

My weekend

I spent the weekend in Dokkum, a small town in Friesland.

Here is the hotel where I stayed...

and this is the church opposite the hotel..

And my car from the back and the side (upon request....)

Snowing in Hilversum

It snowed today! Fantastic, and as a bonus, my train actually ran on time and I could get home.

Here are some interesting pictures of what I saw today!

Pixel

I know I have been promising pictures and stories about my past holidays, but here is something in the meantime while I still ponder what to write.





My new kitty cat - Pixel...

My new car!!!

Me me me!

Here is a picture of me taken by the ever-so-talented

Mr. Rico Bam

Office manager by day - freelance photographer by, well... anytime else!

Locks, Books and a Lazy Saturday

So now the holidays are over, and it is back to work.
I have lots and lots of news, and will hopefully type it all up for you to enjoy in the next couple of days. Today I am just lounging around, and will attempt another painting a bit later.

However, I did do the normal shopping rounds and here is a cute story:

Standing in a queue in the hardware store, an old lady was standing in front of me. With 4 months of severe practice and hard work, I can understand about 90% of spoken Dutch. With a hesitant, almost scared tone of voice, the lady asked the assistant for a lock. He countered asking what needs to be locked up? She answered, a `trommel`. (Like a treasure chest) The way she described it (not referring at all to how big the holes are through which the lock must fit) reminded me of the people going to the university libary and asking: "I am looking for a book. It is blue."

The poor assistant promptly produced a standard-looking lock and sold it to the lady for 15 euros.

Before leaving the store, she asked very softly: "Is dit echt een goeie?" (Is it really a good one?)

Ai, I felt such compassion for the poor lady that want to lock up her wordly possessions.
Still, I am curious to what it might be...

2007

Back from holiday - and safe in Hilversum again.
Will post very soon with all my adventures and pictures from Barcelona, Belguim and Manchester!

Tot zo!

New friends! New friends!

Sitting here all by my lonesome tonight, reviewing some IBM e-learning on my laptop, there was a knock on the front door. My first ever knock on the door since I´ve been here!

Open the door and there is a typical Dutch couple: clean-shaven boy and well groomed, blonde girl in boots and tight jeans. With out-stretched hands.

They have come to meet and invite me to a party! Next Satuday at 9pm. A kind of house-warming. And I have luck on my side... they do not know anyone in Hilversum and besides from her sister in Utrecht, no-one in a 2 hour radius from here.

So maybe I have some new friends.

Something I have always taken for granted, but only now realise how difficult and precious it can be.

Indoor Beach Volleyball

We played indoor beach volleyball as a company outing. At first I was horrified at the thought, but it turned out to be a fun activity!

Anne-marie - my colleague @ Rabobank!

My first house guests...

I had my first guests at my house. Fellow South Africans, Elma & Johann. Check out the salad....

Blurred World

I forgot my glasses at home today. This was my world today....